Forecasting Natural Disasters

Santa Fe Institute





MORE >>

Post to

Likes

Dislikes

RATE

5,074 Views

Info
Bio
Chapters
Highlights
Transcript
Download
More

Partner:: Santa Fe Institute
Location:: Santa Fe Institute
Santa Fe, NM
Event Date:: 11.15.06
Speakers:: John Rundle,; Geoffrey West
Tags:

Summary: Forecasting Natural Disasters in the Chaotic and Complex Earth with John Rundle and discussant Geoffrey B. West.

In the recent past we have seen the December 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami; the August 2005 Hurricane Katrina that destroyed New Orleans and the Gulf Coast; and the Pakistan earthquake in October 2005. Other, less catastrophic disasters include a multiplicity of landslides, flooding, wildfires, tornadoes and epidemics.

For many of these events, vast quantities of satellite data are opening new horizons to better understanding them. Using space-time patterns and information about the dynamics of these high-dimensional nonlinear earth systems, it is often possible to construct numerical simulations that can be used to make predictions about the evolution of the system and the possible occurrence of extreme events - Santa Fe Institute

Bio

John Rundle

John Rundle is the Interdisciplinary Professor of Physics, Civil Engineering and Geology and Director of the Center for Computational Science and Engineering at the University of California Davis. His research is focused on understanding the dynamics of earthquakes through numerical simulations; pattern analysis of complex systems; dynamics of driven nonlinear Earth systems; and adaptation in general complex systems.

Geoffrey West

Distinguished Professor and former President, Santa Fe Institute. Senior Fellow, former leader of high energy physics, Los Alamos National Laboratory. BA, Cambridge University (1961); PhD (physics,1966), faculty (1970), Stanford University.�

Theoretical physicist with primary interests in fundamental problems: elementary particles, cosmological implications, origins of universal scaling laws, unifying quantitative framework of biology, including metabolic rate, growth, aging, death, sleep, cancer, and ecosystems.�

Presently developing unified theory of cities, companies and sustainability, including growth, innovation and the accelerating pace of life. Many awards including Harvard Business Review breakthrough idea (2007) and Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World" (2006).